SINGAPORE - A new government initiative will bring about a nationwide system of lockers from which the public can retrieve small parcels ordered through ecommerce, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced on Tuesday (April 26).

This would make the last mile delivery of parcels easier, he said. Door-to-door deliveries are difficult to perform and add to the cost of delivery, which consumers end up paying for, he noted.

Some companies have started adopting locker solutions but it is costly if each company employed its own solution in each neighbourhood, Mr Tharman said.

There is thus a need for common parcel lockers conveniently located in or near residential areas would improve the ease of last mile delivery, he said.

Mr Tharman was speaking at the opening ceremony of LF Logistic's one million square foot "green" warehouse.

Another initiative Mr Tharman announced involved stationing a logistic operator within a mall to receive and consolidate the delivered goods and then provide last mile delivery to retail shops.

Mr Tharman said the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore plans to roll this out in Tampines Mall and Bedok Mall in July this year.

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